Inconsistencies in Spare over hearing about Queen Mother's death

[Ridemeginger]

Harry writes that he found out about the Queen Mother's passing away (in March 2002):

"At Eton, while studying, I took the call. I wish I could remember whose voice was on the other end. A courtiers I believe. I recall that is was just before Easter, the weather bright and warm, light slanting through my window, filled with vivid colours. "Your Royal Highness. The Queen Mother has died." "

News reports at the time reported he was skiing in Switzerland with Charles and William. The Queen Mother died on 30 March 2002. Easter Saturday. He wouldn't have been at school.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/622457.stm

Recollections may vary, indeed! I doubt very much Harry would have taken the call if he's been with his father.

Didn't the editors do any fact checking?

Typo, fgs.

Have they moved his book over to the fiction section yet?

It is absolutely ridiculous that this book has not been fact checked properly - makes the publishers (Penguin?) look like proper numpties😂

I hear that bookshops are creating an entirely new genre for PH's book. It's called 'Howlingly Funny Books That The Author Meant To Be Deadly Serious.'

Surely when telling "my truth" instead of "the truth" the inconsistencies don't matter?

I hate that phrase so much.

Mmmmm I honestly don't think so. I have had two children at boarding school - although relatively recently. Every three weekends are 'exeat' weekends, that means ALL kids absolutely have to go home or away to a guardian for a break. The guardian has to be named when you take your place up at the school.
In reality, especially as they get older, they often go off to a mates house instead, or you entertain a number of them yourself.
But they do go away - no exceptions.

Being very generous I wonder if he is getting his memory confused with when princess margaret died, it was only about 6 weeks earlier.

All press reports at the time of the QMs death place Harry in Switzerland at the time.

@mixedrecycling that is very interesting. I have heard that PC was very close to the QM - she basically stood in for his mum when she was off on queenly duties, before he was packed off to school by Prince Phillip. So if Harry witnessed PC's devastation at the news, he may have turned it into his own experience in his head.

He's very scathing and cold about Princess Margaret in the book, so doubtful.

She was the GM of PC; which was who I was referring to.

I think his truth is very like Trump's truth. So it has no relationship at all to the actual truth. Some people will believe him, though I've no idea why.

Princess Margaret died on a Saturday morning in February. Not exactly just before Easter .

Of course with Harry’s asked about the inaccuracy it will be somebody else’s fault!

Yes @BethJ62, but the Queen Mother died on an Easter Saturday and Harry is claiming to have been at school. He wasn’t. He was on holiday with his family skiing. As documented by a rather large number of press articles at the time, with photos and, like, actual proof (which we all know is not required for any of Harry’s ‘truths’).

Look if Harry says he was at school , that is his truth < sarcasm>

Is the ghostwriter not also starting to look like a complete twerp here….. surely he should also have been looking for corroboration of what he was being spun?

But those are articles in the British press, so obviously not true, and anyway probably someone at BP was briefing them that PH was away skiing to discredit him and make out he was on holiday enjoying himself when really he was slogging away at his studies.

Harry on Margaret:

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote that she was “almost a total stranger” to him - adding: “I was conversant with the general contours of her sad life. Great loves thwarted by the Palace. Exuberant streaks of self-destruction splashed across the tabloids. One hasty marriage, which looked doomed at the outset and ended up being even worse than expected.

He went on: “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness. She could kill a houseplant with one scowl. Mostly, whenever she was around, I kept my distance.”

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote that she was “almost a total stranger” to him - adding: “I was conversant with the general contours of her sad life. Great loves thwarted by the Palace. Exuberant streaks of self-destruction splashed across the tabloids. One hasty marriage, which looked doomed at the outset and ended up being even worse than expected.

He went on: “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness. She could kill a houseplant with one scowl. Mostly, whenever she was around, I kept my distance.”

www.ok.co.uk/royal/harry-slams-princess-margaret-i-28917482

He also says him, Meghan and Archie were back home within 2 hours of him being born. He also says she has an epidural (dubious as he also says she gave birth in the water which wouldn't be possible but anyway). Considering the drive from the hospital to their home was at least 40 mins, no way she was discharged an hour and 20 minutes afterwards. Yes people can self discharge, but its so wildly unlikely unless the epidural wore off super speedily.

I think this is therapy talk as Harry believes this as if he had any doubts he would check. He has spent much time talking about his father’s absence that it’s seems like it’s seeped into his memories

You do know there are photo's of all 3 Princes getting off the DIRECT flight from Switzerland, even the BBC report it as all 3 were on holiday.

If they had fact checked this the finished product would be the size and length of one of those brochures that gets pushed through your letterbox.

Is he getting mixed up with princess Margaret perhaps. She died a few weeks earlier

images.app.goo.gl/RGaCo3nbVyrfmeFc7

And the more inconsistencies there are in the book the more you cannot trust anything he says in it.